Most actors who land the role of The Doctor in BBC's 'Doctor Who' look upon their reign with a certain fondness, and many have reprised the role briefly in later episodes of the show. Christopher Eccleston, however, is not one of those actors, and in fact credits the show with almost ruining his career.

Christopher Eccleston outside the ITV studios

As hyperbolic as it may seem, the 54-year-old found himself forced to leave the country after departing from the 'Doctor Who' revival series in 2005, after just one season. It was a less than amicable situation to say the least, and he even claims it left him 'blacklisted'.

Expectations are a problem with this year's Secret Cinema event. After the jaw-dropping, goosebump-inducing surprises of both 2014's Back to the Future and 2015's Star Wars, this immersive take on Danny Boyle's classic zombie movie feels rather undercooked. But there's a lot of fun to be had (if not many scares) spending several hours trying to survive in a world overrun by the undead.

The set-up is very clever: you are given an appointment at an NSH hospital in a secret London location, and told to wear scrubs or protective clothing. On arrival you're handed a surgical mask and ordered here and there for interviews, physical examinations and eventually an oral vaccination that seems to make everything go blurry and then pitch black. When you "wake up" all hell has broken loose, and you are sent running through a series of blood-drenched corridors and stairwells, encountering characters and settings from the film as zombies lunge from every corner. In the safe zone, food and drink is for sale, and you get a chance to relax a bit, play a game, have a dance. Finally, you're led into an inventively themed cinema to watch the 2002 film as on-screen elements are performed around you.

Through all of this, medical and military officials harshly shout instructions at you, while TV screens show news reports of chaos on the streets. Combined with the dimly lit post-apocalyptic setting, the atmosphere is enjoyably claustrophobic, only broken by the nagging sense that money is draining out of your wallet at an alarming rate. Not only is the ticket £67 (or £134 for a "premium experience"), but there are things to buy at every point, from the scrubs or coveralls to pricey cocktails served in small bottles or coffee mugs and a relatively slim selection of restaurant-priced food options.

Written and directed with a rakish swagger, and featuring two full-on performances from Tom Hardy, this true London gangster drama is hugely entertaining, even if it feels undercooked. Aside from that generic title, the film basically has no plot at all, and it strips real-life people of their complexity. It's as if the filmmakers were afraid to challenge the audience in any way. But the edgy mix of comedy and violence is riveting.

The events recounted took place over about two years in the early 1960s, although the film's anecdotal structure makes it feel more like a decade. As it begins, the fearsome young Kray brothers (both played by Tom Hardy) are consolidating their gangland grip on East London and expanding around the city, with their next target being South London boss Charlie Richardson (Paul Bettany). Reggie Kray is the tough-minded businessman, while identical twin Ronnie is a terrifying thug who happens to be openly gay at a time when being so was illegal. As they blatantly manipulate the rule of law, a Scotland Yard inspector (Christopher Ecclestone) is desperately looking for a way to take them down. Meanwhile, Reggie is romancing the 16-year-old Frances (Emily Browning), much to the annoyance of her imperious mother (Tara Fitzgerald).

The tumultuous relationship between Reggie and Frances is the only thing that adds a sense of narrative momentum to the film. Otherwise, it's a series of set-pieces that take a darkly humorous approach to family clashes and criminal violence. Writer-director Brian Helgeland infuses even the grisliest brutality with an amusing smirk, which makes the movie much more engaging than expected. And Hardy storms through the film with real charisma in both roles, as the steely, magnetic Reggie and the more unstable, fearsome Ronnie. Both performances are scene-stealing, nicely conveying how these men managed to hold the entire city in their grip, even though they were only in their early 30s at the time.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, London was at the mercy of the terrifying Kray twins (Tom Hardy). Reggie Kray was forced to spend most of his life holding back his identical twin brother, Ronnie, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. As acclaimed night club owners and feared gangsters, the two twins were seen to own London, and lived a life of glitz and glamour, as well as blood and brutality. That is, until Detective Superintendent Leonard "Nipper" Read (Christopher Eccleston) took the task of bringing two of the most powerful and dangerous criminals in the city's history to justice, by any means necessary.

No matter how much the creators of The Leftovers try to convince is that the show isn’t essentially Lost, the comparisons invite themselves. Mysterious central event? Check. Science vs. faith debate? Check. Created by Damon Lindelof? Yep, it’s a really obvious parallel, so if you thought you were being original with that thought, well, think again. However, Lindelof recently defended the originality of his new show – adapted from a 2011 novel by Tom Perotta – by saying: “"The things that turn me on turn me on. I think if I thought too much about why I was doing it, I would talk myself out of it.”

Justin Theroux in The Leftovers.

So there’s your answer. The Leftovers is less keen than Lost to reveal the mystery, but in general, if you enjoyed Lost for any other reason than the *cough* resolution (we’re guessing you did), then The Leftovers should be right up your alley.

Justin Theroux, in a recent interview, explained how he splits his time between his New York apartment and the home he shares with fiancé Jennifer Aniston in Los Angeles.

Justin Theroux doesn't mind living 2798 miles apart from fiancé Jennifer Aniston. The 42-year-old actor has recently opened up about his less than conventional living arrangements with the former Friends star.

Now that The Leftovers is on its second episode, it’s time to proceed with the (very spoilery) recap f this episode’s key events. In the second episode, Penguin 1, Us Zero, we begin to see that Police Chief Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux, might be more than a little unhinged. Judging by his collection of pill bottles and his erratic behavior, which has led all of Mapleton to suspect him for the recent spree of dog murders, Kevin can’t really be trusted, no more than anyone else in this shady town.

Justin Theroux - is police chief Garvey completely out of it now?

Meanwhile, things get heated at Wayne Gilchrest Jr. aka Holly Wayne’s camp. Wayne has been convicted of statutory rape before, due to his penchant for teenage girls. But that was back in Philadelphia. Here in Mapleton, he’s made a name for himself since the departure – as the guy who can “hug the pain out of people.” He’s also doing his thing with underage girls though, so when the FBI storm his ranch on an anonymous tip, we know this was a long time coming. The agents shoot at everyone, who isn’t a teenage girl.

Thor: The Dark World is nearing its US release – Friday, November 8th, as the primary contender for the weekend box office. In the UK, where the movie was released last week, it raked in an impressive £8.65 million on opening night and £5.54 million over its first weekend. Those are impressive numbers and nearly double those of the movie in second place, but the film’s overall European takings are even more stunning. The film was a number 1 release in several countries, including France, Germany and Spain taking $109.4 million worldwide in its first weekend.

The film expands on the love/hate relationship betweet Thor and Loki.

Thor: The Dark World tracks the struggles and enemies that Marvel’s Thor has to face,following the events of The Avengers (or The Avengers Assemble in the UK.) Starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman, the film also boasts a star-studded British cast, including Tom Hiddleston, who returns as Loki, Idris Elba, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Eccleston in his debut appearance within the franchise. While a lot of the story takes place on Asgard, several key scenes from the movie were filmed on location in London.

Marvel can't help itself: these movies have to get bigger and crazier. And this one leaves us wondering where they can possibly go next, as it spirals into a madly funny-scary thriller that threatens the existence of the whole universe. But it also feels like a story children would make up as they go along. Still, the sparky characters and wildly cataclysmic approach are hugely entertaining.

The action picks up right after the Battle of New York (see 2012's The Avengers), and scientist Jane (Portman) is miffed that Thor (Hemsworth) didn't call when he was back on Earth. She has just started dating a nebbish Londoner (O'Dowd) when her assistant Darcy (Dennings) stumbles into a spatial anomaly that draws Jane right into the middle of a 5,000-year-old struggle between Thor's home-realm Asgard and the dark elf Malekith (Eccleston), who wants to use a swirling goo called the Aether to plunge all of existence into blackness just as the universe aligns itself. As this convergence approaches, Thor defies his father Odin (Hopkins) and turns to his disgraced, malicious brother Loki (Hiddleston) for help.

The film is overcrowded with small but pivotal characters, including stern but helpful gatekeeper Heimdall (Elba), mad-doctor Erik (Skarsgard) and Odin's wise wife Frigga (Russo). All of them help distract us from the movie's wildly shifting tone as it darts from sardonic comedy to Lord of the Rings-style battles to silly romance to dark emotion. But the best thing is the tense, unpredictable relationship between Thor and Loki, an enjoyable mixture of sibling rivalry and brotherly love that's well-played by Hemsworth and especially Hiddleston. None of the other characters really has a chance to develop around them. But at least the actors have fun with their roles, including a number of hilarious cameos along the way (there are also two post-credit stings).

Bill Nighy revealed in an interview that he had turned down the role of Doctor Who. He said the role "comes with too much baggage."

Bill Nighy turned down the role of Doctor Who. The actor, in an interview with the Daily Express, revealed he had been offered the part but would not say when. He said he wouldn't reveal this as "the rule is that you are not allowed to say you turned that job down because it's disrespectful" to the actor who obtained the role.

Bill Nighy at the premiere of About Time at Somerset House, London.

However, according to a BBC report from March 2005, Nighy was one of the contenders to replace Christopher Eccleston. David Tennant won the role, becoming the 11th incarnation of the Doctor.